One Among Many

The following Blog posts are about one person who I know shares a similar story with thousands and thousands of others. But, this one person happens to be my Dad, Bruce Dodson. Dad would never talk very much about his time in the military, as I have heard many others say about their own Dads. But, I have always been interested in history, particularly family history. Now that both my Dad and Mom have passed and being their only child, I have had the opportunity to read through many papers and scrap books. Most importantly, my Aunt Geraldine passed along a box full of letters and

mementos that my Dad wrote and sent to her during his time in the Service. These letters and several papers have led me to discover where my Dad was during World War II, what unit he served in and to some extent what he did during the War. I have read and copied reams of official U.S. Army documents concerning the War and specifically his unit. Recently I discovered a paperback book that is a written history of his Military Unit. Coupled all together, I am piecing together a story about my Dad. I am not sure what Dad would think about my writing all of this and making it public. If he were alive today, I’m not sure if he would have even helped me fill in the blanks, so to speak. I think his time during World War II was a chapter in his life that he tried to simply forget about and move on with the next chapters. And, I think I understand that desire. But although Dad was simply “one among many” he WAS my Dad and I’m telling this story anyway!

My Dad, Bruce Dodson was born on March 3, 1925 in Washington, Indiana. I don’t know much about his early childhood, but I know that the Great Depression officially started in 1929 and lasted until 1941. That means from the time that Dad was 4 years old, until he was 16, nearly everyone in

the United States was living in rough times. I remember Dad telling me that his Dad and Mom (Ben and Ella Dodson) had built a new home for the family, but like many others during the Depression they had lost their home and were forced to move to some “shack” of a place to live for many years. I also learned that my Grandpa and Grandma had several children that had died at birth, prior to a

daughter (Geraldine) being born on December 31, 1920 followed by my Dad’s birth in 1925. So, it was a family of 4 who had moved to a shack to live. Clearly Geraldine and Dad were very close during their entire lives.

I also know when Dad was 16 years old, on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and with that the United States became fully engaged in World War II. As the United States war efforts ramped up for the coming engagement in Europe and the South Pacific, nearly every young man either enlisted or was drafted into the military. Whether Dad’s number came up, or he voluntarily enlisted, I do not know. But I do know that On July 5, 1943 Dad officially enlisted in the United States Army.